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gracieoneill 's review for:
Shmutz
by Felicia Berliner
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
The cover alone drew me in, but when I read the description of a woman in her Hasidic community working through her addiction to porn, I was sold as intrigued.
Let me be clear — if you're one who is uncomfortable with graphic sexual imagery, this is not the book for you. However, it's fascinating to read about the porn Raizl is watching from her point of view — the choice to make it analytical worked really well. I also loved the Yiddish that was interspersed in the prose — it fleshed the novel out more and even if I didn't fully get the exact meaning (glossary at the end and I didn't even think to check on my e-book), you got enough of the meaning to get along.
The plot itself was less dynamic than I expected. While it was interesting, I kept wanting more. It's more introspective, which is fine, but not fully what I was expecting, I suppose. Reading Raizl work through her sexuality, her religion, and even role as a woman in an Hasidic community was handled with care — you can tell that Berliner was thoughtful in her words.
I think part of my reservation for the book is that I never fell in love with any of the characters. Not in the romantic/overly attached sense, but I didn't even feel like I got that attached. And it's not about likability, but just instead the investment I felt towards them. I was intrigued and wanted to finish but the characters didn't grip be as intensely as I would have hoped.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. I do think it's a really important and interesting new book, I just wanted to attach to the characters more and feel a little bit more of a fleshed out plot.
3/5 stars.
The cover alone drew me in, but when I read the description of a woman in her Hasidic community working through her addiction to porn, I was sold as intrigued.
Let me be clear — if you're one who is uncomfortable with graphic sexual imagery, this is not the book for you. However, it's fascinating to read about the porn Raizl is watching from her point of view — the choice to make it analytical worked really well. I also loved the Yiddish that was interspersed in the prose — it fleshed the novel out more and even if I didn't fully get the exact meaning (glossary at the end and I didn't even think to check on my e-book), you got enough of the meaning to get along.
The plot itself was less dynamic than I expected. While it was interesting, I kept wanting more. It's more introspective, which is fine, but not fully what I was expecting, I suppose. Reading Raizl work through her sexuality, her religion, and even role as a woman in an Hasidic community was handled with care — you can tell that Berliner was thoughtful in her words.
I think part of my reservation for the book is that I never fell in love with any of the characters. Not in the romantic/overly attached sense, but I didn't even feel like I got that attached. And it's not about likability, but just instead the investment I felt towards them. I was intrigued and wanted to finish but the characters didn't grip be as intensely as I would have hoped.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but didn't love it. I do think it's a really important and interesting new book, I just wanted to attach to the characters more and feel a little bit more of a fleshed out plot.
3/5 stars.